The 25th Symposium of The Protein Society will be held July 23-27, 2011 at the Boston Marriott Copley Place in Boston, Massachusetts./ organized by C. James McKnight (Boston University School of Medicine). The meeting theme is "25 Years of The Protein Society: Where we've been, where we are, and where we're going with protein science." The role of young investigators will be a very important component of the program since they are key to the future of protein science. Two Plenary Sessions will feature "Macromolecular Machines" and a memorial session honoring both Walter Kauzmann and Charles Tanford. The 2011 Society Awards will be presented in two Awards Plenary Sessions, and awardees will present plenary lectures. A new session "Protein Structure Initiative: What We Do and How We Can Help You" will be chaired by Dr. Ward Smith, head of NIH's Protein Structure Initiative (PSI), to promote collaboration between protein scientists and the PSI centers and introduce the new phase of the NIH PSI, PSI Biology, to symposium researchers. Another new session "Engineered Protein Network Interactomes" will focus on synthetic gene networks that have the capability of creating new paradigms for protein regulation and the production of novel compounds and drugs. Our goal is to appeal to an expanded audience of researchers in biomedical fields where proteins play an important role, ranging from basic biochemistry and biophysics to cell biology to human therapeutics. Many of our symposia cover topics with direct relevance to broad areas of human health and disease: neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, infectious diseases, and heart disease-in scientific sessions focusing on Proteins in Disease, Disordered Proteins, Protein Folding, Protein Homeostasis and Degradation, Proteins in the Cellular Milieu, Lipoproteins and Membrane Proteins, Proteins in Metabolism and Biosynthesis, Engineered Protein Network Interactomes, and Macromolecular Machines. The scientific program will include 16 scientific sessions, 14 plenary talks, more than 60 invited speakers and 30 promoted poster talks. Of about 700 abstract submissions, poster sessions include a total of about 400 posters. Promoted poster talks represent late-breaking developments and provide speaking opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. In addition, the program is highly diverse with women and other underrepresented groups comprising approximately one third of the invited speakers. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Our goal is to appeal to an expanded audience of researchers in biomedical fields where proteins play an important role, ranging from basic biochemistry and biophysics to cell biology to human therapeutics. Many of our symposia cover topics with direct relevance to broad areas of human health and disease: neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, infectious diseases, and heart disease-in scientific sessions focusing on Proteins in Disease, Disordered Proteins, Protein Folding, Protein Homeostasis and Degradation, Proteins in the Cellular Milieu, Lipoproteins and Membrane Proteins, Proteins in Metabolism and Biosynthesis, Engineered Protein Network Interactomes, and Macromolecular Machines.